There is Always Light
by s82
Summary: A short AU tale about Qui-Gon failure with Anakin and Obi-Wan determination to help save the Jedi and that Master.


Okay, this was brought about by Jenn's story idea to have an AU where Qui-Gon trained Anakin and how the turning effected him especially because of Xanatos. Also, somehow bring Obi-Wan in.  
  
So, this is the plot bunny that didn't let me sleep (thanks Jenn!). It's short and different, but I hope someone enjoys it.  
  
Notes: I made Obi-Wan 27-28 cause I figure that's as good of age as any, even though he is younger than if he had trained Anakin. In fact, I figure Qui-Gon would be a bit younger too, he just doesn't seem like he would be sixty something in this fic. And Anakin is a lot close to Obi-Wan in age...now there's only about 8 years between them. Remember this is not only AU, but it's not a wonderfully explained AU which might make it a bit hard to grasp at first.  
  
Rated G/PG with spoilers (kinda) for TPM and JA books. Also, I don't own the Jedi or that universe; they belong to Mr. Lucas.  
  
Send FB to the list or Ari82@aol.com  
  
~*~  
  
THERE IS ALWAYS LIGHT  
By: Susie   
  
~*~  
  
It had happened again. How on earth could this be? What fatal flaw did he possess that caused this to happen not once, but *twice*. Two times more than any Master he could think of that was his age. Once was painful enough- losing one son to the darkness was almost more than he could handle. But, he had moved on and learned that one mistake didn't mean he had completely failed. Oh, how wrong he had been...  
  
His second son, the one that would bring balance, the Chosen One, had become his beacon of light; his joy, savior, best friend, and son. He had filled the void that was created when the Dark Side stole his first son, Xanatos. Anakin filled each of his days with a constant reminder that things would not always be horrible, and a little bit of hope and friendship went a long way. Everything had been *perfect*; they were an unbeatable team. Everyone in the Temple knew Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin Skywalker as one of the strongest Master and Padawan bonds in the Temple- ever.  
  
For the first time since Xanatos had left him broken hearted, Qui-Gon felt alive again; he felt whole. How wonderful the times had been!  
  
And then his world came crashing down around him...*again*.  
  
He had been so blind, so trusting, so...unworthy. Anakin was the Chosen One and he, Qui-Gon Jinn failure to the Jedi, had tainted and ruined him. He had pushed the boy to the Dark Side and now Anakin was a Sith.  
  
Not only was he evil, but the young man had begun to gain control and power of the Republic. Qui-Gon knew that it would only be a matter of time before the planets and civilizations felt Anakin's control; he could feel the end of an era approaching.   
  
The end that he had caused.  
  
The Jedi Master placed his head back against the tree behind him and softly pounded his skull into the hard wood. No one had the courage to speak to him about his ex-Padawan yet and he wondered if they were afraid of him. ~I'd be afraid of myself, too~ He obviously had something so wrong with him that he pushed two worthy apprentices to the Dark Side. He had no right to be a Jedi Master.  
  
Qui-Gon, so caught up in his moment of misery, didn't hear the soft footsteps belonging to a younger Jedi. The young man cautiously moved toward the prone Master, instantly recognizing him. The Master had become the topic of conversation lately by near everyone in the Temple. Hushed whispers about the man that had lost not one, but *two* apprentices to the Darkness were heard in every hallway.  
  
Not one to give into the gossip, Obi-Wan had kept his mouth tightly closed whenever the subject came up around him. Who was he to judge this man he had only seen in passing? Now, the young Knight had come out to the Gardens, as a place to relax, and found the man of conversation sitting and radiating misery, sorrow, and hurt strongly into the Force. By now, the younger Jedi had covered the distance between the two of them and was almost on top of the Master's feet, although the man had yet to acknowledge him.  
  
Trying to maintain respect for him, Obi-Wan cleared his throat and was rewarded when a pair of midnight blue eyes, filled with pain, locked with his sea green ones. At first neither said anything but simply stared into each other's eyes. The young man found himself lost in the depths of sorrow that filled the Master's face and suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to thrown himself into the older Jedi and hug him; telling him that everything would be all right. Years of practice on respect, however, made him hold back.  
  
Clearing his throat one more time, Obi-Wan felt it time to break the silence. "I thought you could use some company."   
  
Qui-Gon regarded the lad before him with curiosity. The Knight, probably about twenty-seven, had short auburn blond hair that somehow was able to stick out at all angles. His face was nothing short of handsome and Qui-Gon wagered he had a few female admirers. The young man wore the simple tan outfit of a Jedi Knight, complete with the awful, clunky boots. However, the one trait that stood out on the man was his eyes.  
  
His eyes held a deepness that accounted for his wisdom, but the also had a spark of a child's curiosity that Qui-Gon, in that instant, hoped he would never lose. His eyes seemed to be a turbulent mixture of blue and green that the Master guessed changed in an instant depending on his mood. Not only that, but his eyes held an innocence to them that refused to judge the Jedi Master.  
  
Obi-Wan shifted on his feet and Qui-Gon nodded his head letting the Jedi know he could sit. The younger man rewarded him with the truest smile he had seen in a long time.   
  
"I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi." The slightly accented voice was near music to Qui-Gon's ears; it held no fear, no judgment, and no pity.  
  
The Master nodded in response.  
  
"And you're Master Qui-Gon Jinn." The older Jedi held his breath. Here it came, he was going to say something about him being the Master who lost two apprentices, or something about Anakin turning to the Dark Side. Qui-Gon braced himself as he saw Knight open his mouth.  
  
"It's an honor to meet you, sir."  
  
~Huh?~ The Knight removed his eyes from the Master and looked out at the Garden, all the while Qui-Gon stared sideways at him. Obi-Wan knew the Jedi was watching him, but he kept his eyes away from the deep blue ones. Although his focus in the Living Force was not as strong as some Jedi, the young Knight knew that all Qui-Gon needed was someone to be with him.  
  
For nearly a half an hour the two Jedi sat in companionable silence, no one needing or wanting to say anything that could disturb the peace that had formed. Finally, though, Obi-Wan turned back and looked at the Master.  
  
"I have to be going now, but I want to thank you for sitting with me." The lad rose to his feet, turned, and begun to walk away from the Jedi, but then halted and slowly faced the Master again. "I know you can feel what the future's bringing, I can feel it too. The times are changing, Master Qui-Gon, and the change isn't for the Light, but it is not the end. The Jedi will survive and the balance will come.  
  
"Though our lives will never be the same again, we will always be Jedi and I will always be somewhere if you need me. Darkness may be approaching, but if you hold onto the Light, the sun will rise again. Together, perhaps, we can survive and save what will be destroyed." And with that, the young man walked away leaving a floored Qui-Gon in his wake.  
  
For minutes, the man's mind was a complete blank as he tried to comprehend all that Obi-Wan had said to him in such a short time. The Knight was wise, wiser than Qui-Gon ever was or could be. The younger Jedi would be strong; he would be one of the few guiding stars once the darkness completely fell.   
  
The Master closed his eyes and focused on the Force, allowing the future to play across his mind in a series of jumbled yet understandable pictures.   
  
Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi was going to be important- he was going to be the hope of the Jedi, the only one that could help bring back the balance that Qui-Gon knew Anakin would disrupt. The young Knight would save them from what Qui-Gon had done; Obi-Wan would redeem the Master's failure and bring the Light back. One day, perhaps, Qui-Gon would seek out the young Knight and join him in his fight against his ex-apprentice, but for now the Master would do the only thing he felt he might be able to do correctly.  
  
Qui-Gon placed his head back against the tree and silently prayed to the future, to the Light and to Obi-Wan.  
  
~*~  
  
The end, which Obi-Wan spoke to Qui-Gon over a year ago, did come. It came in full force and when no one was prepared for it. On a spring day, when Anakin was only twenty, he destroyed the Jedi Temple. In one bright light, the Temple that was a sanctuary, home and place of joy for the Jedi fell to the earth. All inside perished in that one fateful moment. Those Jedi, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan included, who were not at the Temple now had a ransom on their heads.   
  
All across the galaxy, Qui-Gon's friends were being hunted and murdered or tortured by his ex-apprentice, now known as Darth Vadar instead of Anakin Skywalker, and the Jedi Master had caused it all. He was solely to blame for the death of the Jedi; the death of the protectors of justice that could no longer even protect against one of their own.  
  
The older man sat on the dusty bench letting the world around him revolve as it would. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Vadar's forces caught up with him and made him one with the Force. In all honesty, he was almost looking forward to it. He had nothing left to live; everything he had, and had become, was destroyed.  
  
"Excuse me, sir?" Qui-Gon heard the voice of a stranger and looked up into the man's face. A strange sense of deja-vu passed over him as he found himself looking into a pair of sea green eyes. The face looked *so* familiar although the moppy, and almost shaggy hair seemed out of place.  
  
"Do I know you?" The Master questioned as he continued to stare. The stranger smiled a knowingly smile and instant recognition fell on Qui-Gon. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."  
  
Not a question, but an observation and the Jedi Knight answered by increasing his smile.  
  
"It's been a short time, Master Jinn, but at the same time an eternity." Qui-Gon nodded in understanding. "Things have not been easy, have they?" The young man left the rhetorical question in the air, already knowing the answer. "There are very few of us left now. I know that Master Yoda has retired to his home planet and a few others have found shelter elsewhere, but we are the only ones left who can bring about salvation."  
  
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at the younger Jedi's statement. "Salvation?"  
  
Obi-Wan looked over at the Master. "Yes, salvation."  
  
The Master shook his head. "How dare you believe that I could help save the Jedi now! Look around you, Kenobi, I caused this. Vadar was Anakin; my apprentice, my responsibility and therefore *my* failure. I don't know what you believe I can do, but I guarantee you, you're wrong."  
  
The Knight's smile left his face. "I have looked around me, Qui-Gon. I have seen the deaths of friends- my only family- I have seen the destruction that Anakin caused, but you know what I do not see? I do not see how you caused any of this. You are not Vadar, you didn't destroy the Temple, you didn't chose the Dark Side. The only thing you will fail in is if you don't accept the fact that we are the only hope right now for the Jedi." Obi-Wan looked straight into the midnight blue eyes. "If you give up now, *then*, and only then, have you failed."  
  
The pair stared into each other's eyes just as they had done over a year ago. The younger man took a deep breath. "Please come back to my home with me."  
  
Qui-Gon, too shocked to do anything else, nodded and followed the man. For nearly a mile they walked deep into the desert until the came to stop inside a dank cave. The Master and Knight moved in and when Qui-Gon's eyes adjusted to the light, he could see he was in the man's home.  
  
"Stay here, I have something I need to show you." Obi-Wan moved into a room while the Master stood still. Moments later the Knight returned with a small bundle, smiling like a man that had just won the lottery.  
  
"I once told you that as long as you believe in the Light anything is possible. Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." Moving his hands carefully Obi-Wan uncovered the bundle to show Qui-Gon a small baby. "This is our Light, Qui-Gon; he is the one that will restore the Jedi."  
  
The Master looked down at the small baby and instantly smiled. The boy was sleeping deeply with his little hands in fist around his mouth. ~This young one will save the Jedi?~  
  
As if reading the Master's thoughts, Obi-Wan spoke again. "He is special in more then just the ways of the Force; if raised to the Light he will defeat evil that is running throughout our lives. He is so strong because he is Anakin's son- Luke Skywalker."  
  
Qui-Gon felt all the air in his lungs escape in one loud gasp. ~Anakin's son?!?~  
  
"Before his turn, Anakin had an relationship with Queen Amidala of Naboo and two children were born from that; Luke here, and his sister Leia who lives with her mother. Both children are strong in the Force, but I know Luke is the one we need." Obi-Wan handed the boy over to Qui-Gon who took him with shaky arms. "You can feel his power, all he needs in guidance that only we can offer. None of the other Jedi that are left can fulfill this task. Surely you can feel that."  
  
The Master stared into the baby's sleeping face and knew what Obi-Wan said was true; the baby was the one that would bring back the balance, but he could have nothing to do with the boy. If he did, it would only be a matter of time before he destroyed another promising hope.  
  
"No, I will not help you; I cannot help you." The Master swiftly, yet carefully handed the baby back to the Knight. "I will not be responsible for ruining another's life."   
  
Obi-Wan let the Master move away a few steps before speaking. "If you do not help me then you are instead responsible for ruining an entire galaxy's life. Without you I cannot raise young Luke to his full potential. I need the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of a Master. By walking away you are turning your back on someone that is our only chance of survival. If you leave now *then* you *will* fail because it will be your choice; do not leave this, Qui-Gon. He needs you, I need you, and the Jedi need you."  
  
When the Master made no move one way or another, Obi-Wan spoke again. "Please don't leave us to fend off the darkness alone." The tone, along with the Force, carried all of the young Knight's hope that Qui-Gon would stay.  
  
Slowly, Qui-Gon turned around and faced Obi-Wan and Luke. He felt his heart and mind being torn in two separate directions. Logic telling him to leave the pair to their own disposal, his heart telling him to help the young Knight and this child that somehow seemed the only chance for the future of the Jedi.  
  
Obi-Wan took a few hesitant steps forward and finally halted in front of the Master, out stretching the baby so that Qui-Gon could look at the boy's face. "He is the Light, he is the hope, he is a Jedi and he needs you."  
  
Qui-Gon stared at the boy and watched as his eyes slowly opened. Soon he found himself looking into the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen and at that moment he knew.   
  
Qui-Gon knew what he was supposed to do.  
  
He looked up to the young Knight. "Together we will survive." Obi-Wan smiled back at Qui-Gon and nodded his head.  
  
"Yes, Master, we will."  
  
  
  
Finis!   
  
Author's note II: The line "even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise" is from Les Miserable which I do not own.  



End file.
